Call Me Claus is a television movie starring Whoopi Goldberg. The movie involves Santa Claus (Nigel Hawthorne) who needs a replacement Santa after serving his 200-year reign. He decides on Lucy Collins (Whoopi Goldberg), an eccentric, grouchy shopping network executive, who hires him to promote Christmas decorations and presents on the network. The movie made its premiere on Turner Network Television on December 2, 2001, and has also been aired on Lifetime and The Hallmark Channel.
Nigel Hawthorne died just 24 days after the release of the film, and just one day after Christmas Dec. 26, 2001[1]